By nightfall, Jiraiya, following the scent, found Li Xing's lodging. Upon entering, he reeked of alcohol and declared, "Li Xing, kid, let's go eat first, then hit a hot spring, and we'll talk to Tsunade tomorrow."
In truth, Li Xing had long wanted a good meal. Although this new body had no hunger, he was short on cash, and all the money he'd painstakingly earned working had been fleeced by the lecherous old man.
"You lecherous old man, I thought you'd have died on some woman's belly. We promised to find one of the Legendary Sannin, but all this way it's been nothing but peeping and drinking. What a waste of time."
Jiraiya landed another blow on Li Xing. Did this brat know how to speak?
"Brat, how many times have I told you, that's research, research, understand?"
With that, he steered Li Xing towards the izakaya at the end of the street, leaving Li Xing no choice.
...
Just as the two were indulging in a feast, Tsunade, having lost money at the casino, walked in with Shizune, carrying a small pig.
Drunk and befuddled, Jiraiya looked at Tsunade before him. They stared at each other. It was a serendipitous encounter, too coincidental.
"Tsunade!"
"Jiraiya!"
"Jiraiya-sama!"
All three shouted simultaneously. Jiraiya's surprise was at Tsunade's ample bosom, which seemed to have grown even more magnificent. Tsunade and Shizune were surprised by Jiraiya's presence and the twelve-year-old kid he was with.
"Lecherous old man, is this the Legendary Sannin you spoke of, Tsunade Hime? Such a magnificent Sannin!" Although Li Xing knew her, he still had to pretend it was his first time seeing Tsunade, which, in reality, it was.
"Jiraiya, where did you find this perverted brat? Is he your son? He's just like you." As soon as they met, Tsunade immediately assumed Li Xing was Jiraiya's son, with the same white hair and perverted tendencies.
Jiraiya didn't want such a disobedient son and quickly pushed Li Xing next to Tsunade.
"Don't be ridiculous. I don't have a son like that, not even half as excellent as me. This is the disciple I found for you. I believe he's very suitable to be your student."
Tsunade looked reluctant. "I refuse. You're the one who likes teaching disciples, not me."
So they thought of him as a burden. What a Jiraiya. His recent royalties weren't good, so he spent Li Xing's money daily and still complained.
"Wait! Are you treating me like cargo, pushing me back and forth? Taking me as a disciple is your honor, understand? A man as excellent as me, you won't find another in the entire world."
Li Xing boasted about himself narcissistically, which was actually true. In the entire world, Li Xing was the only reincarnator.
"Such arrogance, kid. Then tell me, where are you excellent? Perhaps I might actually be willing to take you as a disciple." Tsunade looked down at Li Xing's small stature. He was quite handsome, why did he like bragging so much?
"Ahem, then listen carefully. I'm a superb gambler. Back in my hometown, I was known as the God of Gamblers."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tsunade scooped Li Xing up and turned to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, thank you for finding my disciple. I'll buy you a drink next time." With that, she immediately ran out with Li Xing, heading straight for the casino where she had just lost money.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune had never imagined that Tsunade-sama would so easily accept a disciple. The reason for accepting him was rather awkward. She then said goodbye to Jiraiya and chased after them.
"Brat, you're quite something!" Jiraiya muttered, taking a sip of his sake with a helpless expression.
...
Inside the casino, Tsunade and Li Xing were at a gambling table.
"Kid, what was your name again? Never mind, it's not important. Tell me, is this round odd or even?"
Li Xing had no idea about odd or even. He was completely clueless, a total novice.
"It seems I have no choice but to cheat. I have to live up to the bragging I did," Li Xing thought to himself, and then secretly used his Blood Ghost Technique, clone, to peek at the dice inside.
"My name is Li Xing. It's like this, Master Tsunade, gambling is about luck, and you can't expend too much in a day, otherwise, your life will be plagued by bad luck. If I win this bet, I'll have to wait a long time for my luck to recover. Are you sure?"
As the dice were about to be revealed, and it was too late to bet, Tsunade said "Sure" without thinking.
"Odd!" Li Xing could only tell Tsunade the result. As soon as he finished speaking, Tsunade bet all her money.
"Kid, if we lose this round, I'll leave you here to work for the old man."
As Tsunade placed her bet, Shizune had just caught up. Seeing Tsunade wager all her assets, her heart cried out, "Not good!" Tsunade-sama always lost when gambling. They wouldn't even have dinner tonight.
"Odd!"
The result was the same as Li Xing predicted. Some people in the hall rejoiced, while others despaired. Tsunade, however, shouted with excitement. She had finally won back her money. With this kid Li Xing around, would she ever have to fear debt again? Jiraiya had indeed given her a great disciple.
Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ!
Shizune was dumbfounded. Tsunade-sama had actually won. Was this still the Tsunade-sama known as the Legendary Fat Sheep?
At this moment, the old man in the casino also recognized the Legendary Fat Sheep. His expression was the same as Shizune's. What was going on?
"Master Tsunade, I haven't eaten enough yet. Let's go back and eat, or I won't come to the casino with you next time."
Hearing Li Xing say this, they decided to go back and eat first. She would bring her precious disciple next time.
"Then let's go, I'll treat you to a big meal!"
...
In the izakaya, Jiraiya's mouth twitched. Clearly, he hadn't expected Li Xing to be so talented in this area. He had won in one go.
"Jiraiya, where did you find such a precious disciple? Tell me quickly, I'll go pick up a few more." Tsunade, drunk and excited, patted Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Tsunade-sama, isn't accepting a disciple a bit too casual!" Shizune couldn't stand the thought of having several brats following them around in the future and quickly urged Tsunade not to drink too much.
"This child should be a good match for you. Don't treat him like a tool."
Although Li Xing had no intention of learning any ninjutsu from Tsunade, he also didn't want too many fellow disciples. He simply wanted to drift along, treating it like a trip. Li Xing vaguely remembered the later plot of Naruto, the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He wondered if it could transport him into a dream.
...
The next day, Jiraiya formally handed Li Xing over to Tsunade. It was time for him to journey through the ninja world. As for what Li Xing would learn, it would depend on his talent.
On the grassland outside the town, after seeing Jiraiya off, Tsunade turned to Li Xing.
"Li Xing, you want to learn ninjutsu, right? Then I'll teach you the Mystical Palm Technique, a very powerful medical ninjutsu."
Li Xing didn't care what Tsunade taught him, as he already knew all sorts of ninjutsu in his mind.
"Okay, Master, I will study hard. When you are seriously injured and about to die, I will heal you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tsunade punched him flying far away. Shizune quickly ran to check if Li Xing had been beaten to death.
Although Li Xing was a new species now, he hadn't trained properly yet. With this punch, several of Li Xing's bones were broken. Fortunately, Li Xing's regeneration ability was very strong.
"Li Xing-kun, are you alright?" Shizune helped Li Xing up, her face full of worry, fearing that Tsunade-sama might have accidentally killed the child.
"I'm fine, fine. Just a few broken bones, they'll heal soon. Didn't Teacher Jiraiya tell you? My self-healing ability is very strong."
"Hoh? You say your self-healing ability is very strong? Then let's have a special training session. Shizune, you and Tonton go to the side, and let me give my precious disciple a lesson."
Li Xing felt a sense of foreboding. Was Tsunade really that petty? It was just a few words that sounded like a curse!
And so, this beautiful grassland, after Tsunade's day of special training, turned into a series of deep craters...
(No Gambling!!)